Broadcaster Televisa has pulled out of an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in Nextel Mexico, according to a joint press release. According to Nextel: “The decision to terminate the Investment Agreement stems from the parties’ differences in views on the regulatory and other risks associated with the investment and their inability to reach agreement on modifications to the Investment Agreement that would address those risks.” Televisa did not respond to calls for comment. Nextel also says the decision to terminate the agreement stems from Televisa’s decision to maintain its independence while pursuing opportunities in the Mexican wireless space. Televisa had said it hopes to bring quadruple play to Mexican consumers with the deal, which was conditional on Nextel/Televisa being awarded licenses to use specified amounts of spectrum in upcoming auctions in Mexico.
Category: Regions
CAF Hits up Swiss, Looks to Japan
CAF has raised CHF250m ($261m) in new 2015 bonds in the Swiss market, and is closing in on a new Japanese bond. The Swiss bonds priced at 100.334 with a 2.625% coupon to yield 2.650%, or mid-swaps plus 146bp, in line with mid-swaps plus 147bp guidance. The deal was upsized from CHF150m, according to a CAF official, as demand topped CHF250m. Some 40 investors participated. It is the second-ever Swiss issue for CAF, following a CHF200m sale in 2008. The multilateral lender may also price a Samurai bond in the Japanese market as soon as this week, the official says, after the bank recently filed for a shelf allowing for JPY100bn in new transactions. He declines to give details of the current sale, though notes Mizuho and Nomura are managing, and the issue won’t require a guarantee from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, unlike other recent LatAm issuance in Japan. CAF sold JPY10bn in 2019 bonds last year.
First Quantum Enters LatAm Mining
Canada-based copper miner First Quantum Minerals is making its first entrance into LatAm via the acquisition of peer Antares Minerals for CAD460m, the company says. Antares owns copper and gold assets in Peru and Argentina. As part of the deal, each Antares share will be exchanged for 0.07619 of each First Quantum share or a cash payment of CAD6.35 per Antares share. Also, Antares’ 50% stake in the Rio Grande project in Argentina will be spun off into a new company, Regulus Resources. The new company will be 90.1% owned by existing Antares shareholders and 9.9% by First Quantum. If the deal does not go through, Antares will have to pay the buyer a break-up fee of CAD13.5m. “LatAm is an important copper jurisdiction, so it is certainly has been on our radar,” according to a spokeswoman, adding that First Quantum will be looking for more acquisition opportunities. First Quantum operates in Australia, Africa and Finland. BMO Capital Markets is First Quantum’s advisor while Antares worked with Dundee Securities.
BP Sells Vene Assets
UK-based oil company BP confirmed yesterday that it is selling assets in Venezuela and Vietnam to Russian peer TNK-BP for $1.8bn. BP also declined to comment on the potential value of those assets, though they have been estimated at $1bn, according to an industry banker not associated with the deal. In Venezuela, TNK-BP, a 50/50 joint venture between BP and several Russian businessmen, says it will acquire from BP a 16.7% equity stake in the PetroMonagas extra heavy oil producer, a 40.0% stake in Petroperija, which operates the DZO field, and a 26.7% stake in Boqueron. These assets operate as joint ventures with PVDSA and have a combined capacity of 25 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. The buyer says the acquisitions will be financed through cash on hand and will not require additional capital from the shareholders of TNK-BP. A deposit of $1bn will be made by October 29, with final payment upon completion. Goldman Sachs and HSBC acted as BP’s financial advisors, says a company spokesman, while TNK-BP’s board was advised by Lexicon Partners and management by Credit Suisse.
Banxico Leaves Rate Intact
As expected, Banxico has left the monetary policy rate at 4.50%. The bank says in a statement that industrial production and exports have been growing at a high rate, but that this could be affected by the slowdown in the US economy, where unemployment remains high and consumption is still below pre-crisis levels. In a report, Barclays says it believes that in the most likely scenario, Banxico will maintain the current 4.50% rate for several months. Morgan Stanley says in a report that it expects the rate to remain at 4.50% for the rest of the year, increasing to 5.50% by the end of 2011.
Grupo KUO Plans MXP Issue
Mexico’s Grupo KUO is looking to issue MXP700m of 5 year bonds in November, according to a filing on Mexico’s bolsa. The bonds will pay a spread over TIIE (which closed on Friday at 4.87%) and have a BBB + rating on a national scale. IXE is the bookrunner on the deal. Proceeds will be used to refinance liabilities and for other corporate purposes. KUO has holdings in the consumer goods, chemical and automotive industries.
Pardo Consolidates ASUR Control
Fernando Chico Pardo last week completed his acquisition of the remaining 49% stake in Inversiones y Tecnicas Aeroportuarias (ITA) he did not own. Chico Pardo acquired the stake from Copenhagen Airports, which recorded a $51.7m equivalent adjustment to their profit as a result. Chico Pardo is the chairman and CEO of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR), a Mexican airport operator. He is also the founder of PE firm Promecap. ITA holds 100% of ASUR’s Class BB shares, approximately 7.65% of ASUR’s capital. According to SEC documents, Chico Pardo now owns approximately 73.9% of Asur, both directly and through his holding companies Agrupacion Aeroportuaria Internacional II and Servicios de Estrategia Patrimonial. ASUR did not return calls seeking comment.
Ecopetrol Outlook Revised Up
Ecopetrol’s outlook has been revised to positive from stable by Fitch, after Colombia’s sovereign rating outlook was revised. Ecopetrol’s foreign and local currency issuer default ratings remain the same, at BB+ and BBB- respectively. Colombia’s outlook revision to positive reflects the country’s economic resilience and improved macroeconomic performance in relation to its peers, says Fitch. The country’s expected increase in oil and mining is also likely to benefit overall economic activity. Ecopetrol’s ratings reflect its strong financial profile, improving production capacity and adequate reserve levels, adds Fitch. The company’s growth strategy and associated capital investment are also considered aggressive. The ratings reflect the close link with the Republic of Colombia, which owns 89.9% of Ecopetrol.
Guatemalan Bank Revisits Bolsa Dream
Guatemala’s Banco Industrial is reconsidering a listing on Mexico’s Bolsa, which it tried to do before the 2008-2009 credit crisis put paid to the transaction. Guatemala’s largest bank would consider a 20%-25% float, Luis Prado, director of the bank’s international division tells LatinFinance, noting that the exact timing has yet to be determined. Fresh cross-border debt issuance, including DPR securitizations, which it last raised in 2005 for $200m, could also be an option to fund expansion, he says. “Our goal is to expand through Central America,” Prado says. Already operating in Honduras, the bank opens in December in El Salvador, after receiving the appropriate licensing this year. Panama and Costa Rica are more distant possibilities for organic or acquisition-based expansion, he says. The bank will focus on organic growth in the domestic market to keep it competitive in the intensifying credit market, Prado says, but will not focus on domestic M&A. Fitch last week upgraded to positive from stable the BB credit rating of Industrial. The improved outlook reflects the bank’s strong local franchise, resilient asset quality and well-contained credit costs, adequate funding and liquidity, and good and stable profitability, says the agency. Fitch adds that the rating could be lifted if the bank sustains these trends and further improves capital adequacy. Industrial had 27% of the Guatemalan banking system’s assets and deposits as of June.
IFC Guarantees Honduran Loan
The IFC is guaranteeing 36% of a subnational loan for Honduras’ central district municipality for $44m equivalent in local currency. This is the first time that the IFC has guaranteed a loan in Honduras not backed by the sovereign, says Javier Atala, general manager and executive vice president of Banco Financiera Comercial Hondurena (Ficohsa), lead arranger on the loan. The loan has an 8-year term and pays 16%, he tells LatinFinance.. Besides Ficohsa, others participating in the syndication are Banco Atlantida and Banco de Occidente. Out of the 16% interest rate, he says the banks syndicating the loan will divide 14% in equal parts and the IFC will get the remainder as commission. Ficohsa is lending $14.7m equivalent, Occidente $13.2m and Atlantida $13.2m, Atala says. The loan will be used to repair roads and implement an early flood warning system in the district, which includes Tegucigalpa.